Dream
by ThexWhitexPhoenix
Summary: This had to be a dream. No one wanted him. He was weak and not good at doing what he was told. She would throw him out too in the end, he just knew it. Yet, when she tucked him into the bed and put the cub close beside him, telling him in a gruff voice to just go to sleep already, he wondered if perhaps it was okay to just enjoy it while he could
1. Chapter 1

I began to write this fic half a year ago, seriously, and I still didn't publish it before now...  
Well, this is a trilogy, beginning with Dream. I began with all three stories almost at the same time actually...

This is by no means the real story of how Trafalgar Law's childhood was, since I've got no idea about it. This is just my sweet/twisted/I-don't-know-what-to-call-it version that came into my head half a year ago, because let's face it, there is something off with the guy. Something MUST have happened in his past.

And I do realize bear cubs grow really huge after only a year, but for the sake of cuteness (and because the characters are from an anime where common logic simply does not exist) Bepo will stay tiny and cute until I decide to make him big.

I hope you will enjoy this little fic of mine.

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Dominica belongs to me.**

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He ran, the wind blowing the snow everywhere and blocking his vision. His short legs didn't enable him to run fast and his aching body didn't have the stamina to keep him going for a long time but he didn't care. He just knew he had to get away from _that_ place. He had his treasure with him, a small first aid kit box, and believed that all he would need was this one little treasure. He paused to gather his breath, his lungs burning, the cold air doing nothing to help, and he glanced around quickly to make sure he was alone. He started to relax before he heard it.

_Crunch crunch._

'_Footsteps!'_ He thought in alarm and began running again. He couldn't be captured now, they wouldn't forgive him for trying to escape. He soon realized that the footsteps were not from behind him but from in front. He stopped and was about to turn and run in another direction when there was a yelp and a snap. He paused. That yelp was not a human sound, it was an animal and it had likely gotten hurt not far from him. He shook his head and made to move forward but once he heard pained whimpers he stopped and looked at his toolbox.

'_I want to be a doctor…'_ The raven haired boy stood silent for a moment longer before hurrying in the direction from where he had heard the whimpers come from and before long he found the source.

'_A baby bear.'_ He stared at the creature that noticed him and began to paw at the trap it had been caught in. Law looked around to make sure they were alone but the snowflakes kept obscuring his vision. The only reason he knew the little bear was hurt was by the deep red snow around the trap. He turned back to the cub and took a few cautious steps towards it. It immediately panicked, crying out and struggling against the trap, hurting itself more. The boy jumped back and held up his arms as a sign that he wouldn't hurt him. The bear didn't understand and continued to struggle and the boy did the only thing he could think of.

He fell down on all fours, successfully shrinking in size and therefore being deemed as less of a threat to the cub. The snow stung his hands and he felt tears fall down his cheeks but he stayed down for the cub had calmed down. Slowly he crawled over to the bear that tilted its head at him but the tiniest movement caused it pain. When it yelped again the boy stopped shortly before continuing. He put his box on the ground and reached for the steel trap. The bear looked on as he tried to open the steel trap. It wasn't working. The boy puffed his cheeks and grabbed a hold of the trap again and pulled. Suddenly the bear leaped away from him and it caused the boy to lose his hold on the trap in surprise, almost getting his fingers caught.

He quickly pulled them back and blew hot air on them.

'_So cold!'_ He thought before turning towards the direction of where the bear had darted. It hadn't gone far, with its injured hind-leg. He grabbed his box and shuffled closer to the little creature that suddenly growled at him menacingly and moved into a defensive stance.

"I-I'm not gonna hurt y-you." The dark haired boy stammered as he pulled his box in front of him and opened it. "L-look. It's m-medical supplies." The cold was unbearable, his ears were red and hurting, and so were his hands. The snow piled on top of his head and ran down the back of his neck causing him to shiver. The bear stared for a while before laying its head down and sticking its paw out. Slowly the boy reached out and inspected it before pulling back to sort out whatever he needed in his toolbox. Before long the little bear was stitched and patched up, the only evidence of it ever being hurt was the dried blood in its fur and the bandage around its paw. It stood up and stared at him for a while before snuggling into the shivering hand the boy held out and licking it a few times.

It had been a long time since the boy had smiled in earnest but this little action caused a wide childlike grin to spread across his face. The bear then stood up and limped away. The boy frowned but when the bear turned to stare at him for a moment he smiled and waved. As if the bear understood him it nodded its head and disappeared behind the trees. The boy took a deep breath before resuming his escape. He had helped someone. He had treated a wound, even if it wasn't a human who had been hurt, and was proud of it. A wide grin spread across his face again as he walked through the dark forest but soon enough it melted away.

His cheeks were red, his breaths came in short pants, and he was cold and found it hard to move. He blew hot breath on his hands again and noticed that they were not a healthy shade but rather quite red, his right pinky was starting to turn purple. It was oh so cold, hard to breathe and dark.

_Crunch crunch_

He turned as he heard the snow being trod upon again. He wondered if it was the bear that had decided to follow him. He squinted into the white mist but saw no cub following. The sounds came closer and closer and he could suddenly see a dark shape. There was only one thing wrong about it. It grew larger and larger, much larger than him and he realized that he may have been found. Turning swiftly he ran as fast as he could, adrenaline pumping through his body, powered by his fear, and left the dark figure behind in the storm. He ran and ran until suddenly he bumped into something and fell back. He looked up and his eyes widened in fear.

"Thought you could escape eh?" The man leering down at him was by no means a comforting sight. He was missing several teeth, and those he had left where yellow, his skin pale and unhealthy looking and his eyes a cold, pale blue. He never saw the fist come at him, but he felt the pain in his nose and right eye. The boy fell to the ground, blood pouring from his nose and a cut above his eye. He couldn't see for the first few moments as he tried to blink away the blood but it hurt more for each movement. He decided to keep it closed. Then he was kicked in the side, sending him crashing into a tree.

"Thought you could get away from the boss? And with medical supplies? They ain't cheap ya know." The boy whimpered and tried to get up on his feet but the pain in his ribs and the lack of air caused his body to scream at him to stay still so he collapsed onto the ground. The man stalked over and lifted the boy by the collar of his neck and squeezed, The boy didn't have any energy left to fight the grip either and felt himself panic as he couldn't breathe. His feet kicked at thin air but there was no way he could free himself. Compared to the adult he was weak, way too weak, and he was so tired.

Growls could be heard. The man turned his head to stare down at the little white bear cub growling up at him. The boy looked down too and his eyes widened. It had followed him.

"What do you want, runt?" The man asked despite the fact that the bear obviously couldn't answer. The cub just continued to growl before biting into the man's leg. With a growl of his own the man kicked the bear away and the boy cried out in worry but soon darkness began to cloud his vision and he fell unconscious. What made him wonder though, just before he lost consciousness, was why the man suffocating him suddenly looked to be in pain.


	2. Chapter 2

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Dominica belongs to me.**

* * *

He flitted in and out of consciousness several times after that. He could see long pale blonde hair, pale skin, something white and fluffy, hear a voice that belonged to no man but a woman. That was new.

"I'm doing what I can, stop whining!" Who was whining? Was it him? He couldn't hear anything but her voice. "Get out, no I mean it get out- oh fine stay then!" She sounded angry. Was she angry at him for escaping? He had never seen her before so she must be new to the facility. When he next woke up he was alone, there were no voices, no people but the sun shone through the window he noticed before he fell unconscious again.

When he yet again woke up he expected to stare at the white ceiling in the infirmary in the facility where he was kept but while the roof was indeed white the room was not. It was painted a dark purple. The bed was soft, not thin and hard like the ones at the infirmary and he wondered where he was for not even the bed in his cell was this comfortable.

"About time you woke up." He turned his head and stared at the woman who sat on the bed he was resting on. He set tired grey eyes on her and before he could ask who she was or where _he_ was she began to talk again.

"You have three broken ribs and many bruised ones, a concussion, a deep cut over your right eye which swelled up and first degrees of frostbite on your hands so I'm not gonna ask how you're feeling because I know you feel like crap." The boy blinked at the woman, wondering what she was talking about. Why did she tell him about his injuries? They had never done that before at the facility. They merely patched him up and then sent him to his room. The lack of a response from the boy caused the woman to frown.

"Are you actually conscious now?" She fished out a tiny flashlight and flashed his eyes. He flinched.

"Well, both you and your eyes respond so I'll take that as a yes. You ain't deaf are you?" The boy shook his head and her frown eased up a bit. "Can you talk?" Again the boy nodded and ner frown deepened yet again.

"You didn't understand a thing I said did you? You're just a brat after all." The boy shook his head then and opened his mouth.

"I understand… The ribs… They must have been damaged when the man kicked me, the swelling in my eye was because of the punch and the concussion is probably a result from me crashing into the tree. The frostbite is the result of me going outside without proper clothes." He quickly looked at his lap as the woman gaped at him, fearing he had done something wrong. While this was knowledge that had been drilled into his head at the facility he had still talked back at her, something she hadn't allowed him to do. She was surely going to punish him for speaking out of turn and he closed his eyes in fright before she chuckled.

"Well ain't that a surprise. You're a smart kid. Then it was probably you who patched up Bepo." The boy tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Bepo?" She pointed at the other side of the bed and the boy turned to look at what she was pointing at and his eyes widened in surprise. Not far from him the little polar bear he had helped lay, sleeping.

"Ah!"

"Thought so." The woman chuckled. "The cub came pawing at my door earlier and urged me to follow him. I saw the bandage and wondered what the hell was wrong."

"Is he yours?" The boy mumbled in envy, hands twitching, wanting to bury themselves in the white fur and the woman stared before shaking her head. "Nah, he's just a cub I found a few weeks ago, all alone in the woods. The poor thing was starving so I took him back home and nourished him. Now he thinks I'm his mother or something and won't leave." She muttered the last part but didn't sound all that mad, the boy thought.

"What's your name kid?" The boy turned his head quickly back to the woman and felt dizziness and nausea welling up in him as he fell backwards. The woman was quick though and caught him, gently laying him down.

"Oy, take it easy now." She quickly pulled forth a bucket she had kept close to the bed and let the boy empty his stomach in it. She stared at the content before frowning at the boy. "That wasn't much." She had expected a lot more but it seemed like there was no content in the boy's stomach at all. The boy panted heavily and screwed his eyes shut to escape the illusion of the room and woman twisting and turning. He didn't want to throw up again, it felt horrible to lose what little contents he had in his stomach and he was tired still. The woman spoke and he froze, terror filling his entire being.

"Go back to sleep kid." She said, realizing she wouldn't get any answers from him for a while. The boy suddenly seemed to tense and he stared at her, frightened. She wondered where the fear suddenly appeared from but she pulled the covers up to his chin, ignoring his flinch.

"I'll get you something to eat when you wake up." This didn't seem to reassure the boy so she glanced at the cub sleeping beside him. She walked around the bed and pushed the sleeping cub closer to the child. "Bepo will keep you company while I'm gone." Hearing this finally caused the boy to relax and he reached out with one of his hands, burying it in the warm fur, as his eyes fluttered close.

'_The kid is exhausted, which is actually pretty understandable. He's too thin though.'_ She thought as she examined him again. His cheeks were hollowed in, there were dark circles around his eyes and when she had been patching him up while he was unconscious she had noticed a few scars and a lot of bruises, some old, some of them new. His wrists were like twigs and she could see his ribs through his skin. How those legs had managed to support him at all surprised her.

'_Well… I promised him food, didn't I?_' She thought as she grabbed her hat and sword and sauntered out of the cabin in which she lived and down into the village not far from her home.

The boy woke up to something wet repeatedly brushing over his cheek and opened them to see the cub licking him. He blinked as the cub yapped happily and licked him again.

"Awake again?" He turned his head towards the door to see the blonde-haired woman lean against the door frame with her arms crossed across her chest. She was wearing a coat and a white, fuzzy, brown spotted hat on her head with melting snow on it showing she had just been outside.

"Hungry?" His stomach answered for him and he hit it while clenching his teeth but screamed as he felt the pain from his broken and bruised ribs. "Hey, hey! What are you doing?" The woman exclaimed as she gripped his wrists to stop him from hurting himself further, snow falling off her hat and raining down on him.

"I'm sorry, I'm not hungry, I swear I'm not hungry!" The boy struggled madly and she frowned. "Calm down." Immediately he went still and her frown deepened.

"What's so bad about being hungry?" She questioned as she stared at him. "I'm just lying in bed. I don't deserve food if I don't work, do I?" He asked and she sighed while letting go of his wrists. The boy pulled the hands to his chest before suddenly there was a light slap on the back of his head.

"Idiot!" His hands flew to his head to cover the spot she had hit and stared at the woman with wide and fearful eyes while her own teal ones narrowed. "You need to eat, especially since you're hurt! And you're as thin as a twig, that's unhealthy! Now shut up and wait here, aye!" The boy nodded quickly as the woman stormed out of the room. The bear tilted its head, as if it didn't understand what was wrong, before it licked at the boy's hand and yapped again. The boy stared at the cub and felt the corners of his mouth twitch upward but as he heard the woman rummage around outside he pulled the covers up to his chest.

It didn't take long before the woman returned with some broth that she told him to carefully sip at. He was malnourished and if he wasn't careful he would do more damage to himself. The boy nodded and grabbed the spoon but flinched as he burned himself.

"Too hot?" He nodded and gazed up at her fearfully as she took the spoon from him. He knew she would tell him to deal with it and force it down his throat, he just knew it, and therefore it was a big surprise when she blew on the broth to cool it before holding the spoon up to him.

"Better?" He tasted and found that he wasn't burning his tongue anymore and nodded. She grinned then and fed him the rest of the bowl. The warm food made him drowsy and he wanted to sleep again so he leaned back against the pillows as she put down the bowl.

"Watch over him, Bepo." She told the bear which curled up by the boy's side, nodding its head as if it understood what she said before she pulled the blanket up to the boy's chin and moved to leave the room.

"Who are you?" The drowsy voice made its way to her ears and she glanced at the boy. "Dominica. Now, go to sleep brat." She wondered if the boy had even heard what she had said, since his eyes were already closed and his breathing even, but she didn't contemplate it for long. She simply assumed that he would ask again when he woke up. Standing in the threshold to the room she turned off the light in the room and closed the door silently behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Dominica belongs to me.**

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Dominica checked the boys' temperature and her frown disappeared, an almost relieved expression taking its place.

'_No fever. He's lucky.'_

"Do you feel dizzy?" He shook his head. "Nauseous? Is the light too bright? Do you feel tired and is it hard to think?" He shook his head again and she nodded satisfied. If the constant shaking of his head did not make him empty his stomach of what little content there was in him, then he was fine.

"Well, then I guess you're one of the lucky ones. Your concussion wasn't all that bad then." She lifted his hands and removed the bandages, noticing that the blotches of yellow and white had dimmed and were returning to normal skin-color. She began rewrapping them with new bandages with a raised eyebrow. He was healing surprisingly fast for someone who had been malnourished and weak.

"You heal quickly. Your ribs are another matter though. Bruised ribs aren't that bad but you've broken three. Let's see." She pulled out a bag of ice, wrapped it in a cloth and slowly put it down on the bruised ribs. He yelped at the cold but held still, as she had instructed him the day before because then he had jumped and tried to scoot away only to cry out in pain from the movement. She had not been happy and told him to man up instead of adding to her workload. It had resulted in lot of crying and groans of displeasure. They sat like that in silence for a long while before she removed the ice-pack and pulled out a stethoscope, the boy flinching as the cold steel met his skin.

"You'll have to stay in bed for another two or three weeks because of the ribs. Now, take a few deep breaths." The boy did as told and winced. It hurt but not much. The painkillers she had given him were making sure of that but painkillers were only a temporary solution. They did not eradicate all of the pain.

"Everything seems to be in order, eh. That's good." She removed the stethoscope and placed it on the night-table before reaching out towards the bandages covering half of his face. She removed them, ignoring how he flinched away from her hands, and lifted a warm, damp cloth and applied it to the cut.

"Hold still." She told him firmly when he began to move away. "The warmth will make the swelling go down. You're one lucky kid. The cut wasn't deep so you didn't need stitches but it swelled up pretty bad." When he didn't respond but simply sat still she peered under the cloth she held to his right eye and noticed he was simply staring at his lap, adamantly ignoring her stare. She sighed.

'_This kid is impossible. It's clear that he's got no parents to take care of him and that guy who almost killed him is a part of a gang on the other side of the island working for god-knows-who. It's only a matter of time before they find the boy when he leaves, whatever it is they want with him.'_ And then all of her hard work would have been wasted. Why had she saved the kid again?She held the cloth there for a few more minutes more before removing it and examining the swelling. It had not decreased much but with time it would disappear and she was pretty sure the cut would not leave a scar.

"So, you ready to tell me your name?" He glanced up at her but just as quickly he looked down again. His fingers fisted in the sheets, trembling slightly but after a few moments he muttered something though it was far too quiet a murmur for her to hear. Contrary to whatever the boy may have believed, she did not have extraordinary hearing.

"What was that?" Dominica leaned closer to hear what he was muttering and he repeated himself, speaking much clearer now. "Trafalgar Law."

"Trafalgar Law." She tested the name. "That's a mouthful." The boy flinched and lowered his head even more, giving the impression that he had a hunchback.

"I'm sorry." She almost slipped off the bed. Why did the brat apologize for every little thing? Just because his name was a bit of a mouthful for her to pronounce the first time it wasn't something he could change. It was his parents that gave him that name; he should take pride in it. "What's there to be sorry about, geez? Well, at least I have your name now. You still hungry?" The boy nodded slowly, cautiously and she stood up.

"I'll make you some food then. Bepo!" The cub jumped up, alerted. "Guard duty!" The bear walked over to Law and plopped down on his lap, staring up at him. The boy wondered how the bear was not afraid or at least intimidated of the woman. Her words were harsh, her voice rough and threatening and despite being very pretty her eyes were hard, cold, almost steely. She was very intimidating, he thought, much more so than the men at the facility.

"Now, don't go anywhere alright? And if you need something before I'm done, yell out." And with that she was gone. Law stared at the little cub which sat on his lap, as a proper tiny guard-dog, staring right back at him. The boy had never properly petted the cub, yet it seemed like the white fuzz ball had taken a liking to him. Slowly he raised a hand, waiting for the animal to flinch away but was yet again surprised when the bear leaned into his hand, as if it could not be bothered to wait for the boy to gain the tiny courage he needed to pet him. Law giggled as the bear let out a content whine. They sat there for a while longer before Bepo perked up and jumped off the bed, leaving the room. The bandage on its hind-leg was long gone. Dominica had checked up on it and deduced that Law had done a very good job, for a novice, before removing it. The cub still limped but it was hardly noticeable and the red, dried and crusty blood had been washed off the moment the first strip of bandage was off.

"Wait, what are you doing-" A crash could be heard outside and the black haired boy wondered what had happened. "No wait, don't-" Another crash was heard, a nasty sound of glass shattering into tiny pieces. Law could only imagine how the shards would stick to the sole of his feet should he get up and walk out there, a sharp, prickling pain for each step as the shards would dig deeper into his flesh.

"Bepo, I swear to-" A third crash was heard and then everything turned silent. Then there was a yelp and the sound of stomping. In the doorway, Dominica appeared with Bepo under her arm, before she stomped over to the bed and dumped the cub on it, a terrifying glare marring her pretty features.

"You. Brat. Guard. _Aye?!" _The bear nodded hastily and she stomped out of the room again, leaving two very confused and frightened children. Not long after, Dominica came back with a bowl of soup and to Law it smelled heavenly and when she placed it on his lap this time he only hesitated for a moment, looking at her cautiously, as if waiting for permission to eat or perhaps he still feared that she would do something to his food. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and crossed her arms.

"I still haven't poisoned it or anything." She muttered and he grabbed the spoon, happily shoveling down the content in the bowl. Dominica watched for a moment before a low chuckle erupted from her. When she had found the boy, over a week ago, he had slept for days and when he finally woke up he had been terrified of her. When she reached out to remove the empty bowl she noticed that he moved as far away from her hand as he could without actually looking the part.

'_Alright, rephrase that. He's still afraid of me.' _It was as if he considered her a predator, and he was the prey which she was stalking, and readying herself to pounce on him the moment he dropped his guard. She wondered what kind of experience the child had gone through before she found him to make him so terrified. _'Child abuse, mental, physical or both? Multiple beatings? Betrayal upon betrayal?_' It was all too obvious that the kid had known nothing but cruelty. He was malnourished, weak and beaten. Hell, she thought, to her he had seemed like an empty husk, a lifeless corpse which moved only on faint memories of the time it had been alive. The only thing that brought life, and another emotion other than fear, to the dark haired child's eyes was Bepo. And that was why she had the bear stay close to the boy at all times. If it could soothe the boy and help him along then her workload would be easier too.

She took the bowl with her to the kitchen again and began to clean up the mess Bepo had made when he had trotted in after her, climbing up on the counter and sending the plates she had prepared to the floor. She sighed. The bear had been with her for a few weeks before she had found Law and had refused to leave her alone, always following her and making her trip over him. She thought he had finally left when he did not return home one day before she heard it whining outside her door. She had been really surprised when she had seen the bandage on his hind-paw after she had opened the door to tell him off and followed when he urged her to. She had followed him into the forest as the wind picked up and flung the snow in the air, obscuring her vision, and after a while she had seen a tiny shape in the snow but as she closed in on whatever or whoever it was it turned and ran away. She had decided to give up after a while before she heard a scream. Bepo had disappeared so she hurried in the direction of the cry. It didn't take long before she saw Bepo being kicked away from a man strangling a boy.

'_Well…'_ She thought. '_The bastard won't be able to hurt anyone again.'_ She had cut him down after all. She had mutilated him before killing him off actually. It had wasted precious time she should have used on the boy but everything had turned out alright in the end. Once she had cleaned up she turned and moved to the room where the boy was resting and had to laugh as she realized the boy had fallen asleep with Bepo in his arms like a teddy bear. What a sight, it was absolutely adorable. She decided to grab a book and spend some time reading instead of watching over Law. If he was sleeping then he did not need her to look after him until he woke up at the rate he was healing. She headed for the living room and went to her bookshelf, grabbing a book and then falling down onto the couch, proceeding to read the content.

She tumbled off the couch when she heard Law call out.

"Hello? Are you there?" Disoriented, she realized she had fallen asleep herself and groaned as she got up on her feet. "Yes, yes, I'm on my way." She called back as she grabbed the book and put it on the table beside the couch before heading to the room.

"What is it?" The boy looked extremely uncomfortable as he fisted his hands in the blanket, muttering something. Again she thought to herself that the boy had to learn that she could not hear him if he did not speak up.

"What?" She leaned down, not quite catching what he had been saying. He needed to learn to speak up. "I need to pee…"

"Oh…" She righted herself immediately before pulling the sheet off of him and helping him off the bed and into an office chair, a substitute wheelchair, and led him out of the room and to the bathroom. "Just tell me when you're done, alright?" Law nodded and she closed the door behind her, letting the child have his privacy. For her, this was not embarrassing at all, hell she had had older patients who needed help to go to the bathroom, but she realized the boy felt weird about it. She wondered why, since he was just a child. Not long after Dominica was pushing him back to the room, helping him back in the bed and was well on her way out when he stopped her.

"Do you have anything I can read?" She glanced at him. "Only medical books, which I doubt you'll understand." For the first time his eyes actually brightened by something she had said which did not involve the snoring cub on the bed beside him.

"C-can I have one? I promise I'll be careful with it." She blinked and stared at him for a few moments before leaving the room without a word. Law fell back on his pillows in a dejected manner, thinking that she had decided to ignore his request, like they did back at the facility when she suddenly came back in with a rather thick, old worn book in her hands.

"This contains the basics mainly for light diseases that can be easily cured. Enjoy." She held it out and he reached for it, joy filling him before she abruptly pulled it back. "There is a condition though." His heart sank. This could not be good, it never was when the people from the facility did things such as this. Was the book worth the risk? After a moment he decided to try his luck.

"W-what is it?"

"Stop calling me 'you'. I have a name. Call me by my name." Law stared at her. Was it really that simple? There was nothing worse than just having to use her name?

"Can I have the book, D-Dominica-ya?"

"Dominica-ya?" She questioned and he blushed. "I-I'm sorry-" She laughed then, a loud sound it was, carrying across the room and waking the poor cub up with a start.

"Bahahahaha! You have a funny way of saying my name Trafalgar." She held out the book to him again and this time let him grab it. "I like it." She continued to laugh as she left the two alone in the room.

"Dominica-ya, hah." How very funny indeed.


	4. Chapter 4

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Dominica belongs to me.**

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A month had passed and the boy was up on his feet on his own without needing any more help from Dominica. She had to admit, it was much easier for her now that she did not have to help him with every little thing, like going to the bathroom, bathing and most of all; she did not have to redress his wounds anymore. The swelling in his face had receded and disappeared a long time ago, the cut had healed nicely without leaving a scar; the frostbite had been treated in its early stage and not done any damage to skin or nerves which had all been a huge relief. His ribs still ached a bit but it was nothing a few painkillers couldn't fix.

One early morning she shook the kid awake and told him to get dressed before fixing them both some breakfast.

"What's going on?" Law asked sleepily as he rubbed his eyes, stumbling over Bepo who faithfully kept close to him. "We're going into town. Here, eat." She said and handed him a plate with scrambled eggs while she herself ate a sandwich. She had tried once to give him a sandwich. He had taken a few bites before she had taken pity on his sour expression. He detested bread with a passion, she had learned.

"Into town?" Immediately he was awake and seemed to be terrified of the prospect of leaving the cabin. While she became curious about it she decided to leave well enough alone. She would not keep him for much longer anyway. Once his ribs stopped aching she would find him a home and leave him there. She had no time for children. "That's right. We're going into town." She nodded and he returned his eyes to his breakfast, appearing to have lost his appetite, if the manner of which he just poked his eggs instead of eating was any indication.

"I received a call earlier. Someone needs me to check on them and I thought you would like the idea of leaving these walls for a few hours." He did not look up. While the thought of going outside to breathe in fresh air was exciting, the fear of being found by the men from the facility effectively pushed away any thought of leaving. The punishment they dished out to those who disobeyed... the thought made him shudder. He had been safe inside the cabin. No one knew that Dominica had been nursing him back to health. If he left they would find out. They would find him and bring him back and punish him and-

"I also thought you would like the idea of examining a patient with me." She said off-handedly and he froze. She smirked as she saw the gears in his head work overtime. He was safe inside, no one knew about him hiding here, but to examine a patient, a real patient, oh the possibilities! The experience he could gain! They sat in silence for a few more minutes before he began to eat again.

"Only for a few hours." He muttered, sounding very displeased but she knew better. He was excited, curious. He could deny it as much as he would like but his eyes could not hide his emotions and his body could not hide the excited tremors which coursed through him.

"Only for a few hours." She agreed, pleased that such a simple promise had managed to coax him with her. If she introduced him to the townspeople she was sure one of the families there would want to take him in. Once both the boy and the cub had finished eating she pulled out a scarf and a jacket, handing them over to the boy. The jacket was too big for the boy, she noticed, as it swallowed him and had him waddling like a penguin. She knew she had to get him a new one, and a pair of shoes too before she gave him away because the ones he had used when she found him were falling apart. She grabbed her nodachi and slung it over her shoulder, opening the door and letting the two out before her as she grabbed her bag of supplies and went out after them.

Bepo jumped around in the snow, yapping happily. He seemed to be happy to be allowed out again for a longer period of time than just ridding himself of bodily fluids and such. Dominica had to smile at the sight. Law though, stood by the door, completely still, eyes looking back and forth as if he was waiting for something to jump out and attack him. She walked past him and Bepo followed but suddenly he began to whine. Dominica turned around and saw that Law still hadn't moved.

"Trafalgar. Come on." The boy looked up at her but seemed terrified. She raised an eyebrow before fixing her bag to her sword and held her free hand out. "Come on." She called again and he moved forward. He did not expect her to grab his hand though and pull him with her. She did not utter a word during the walk and neither did he. He just took the comfort she gave him and held onto her hand for dear life. He also noticed how she leaned forward and how tall she was. She must have been pushing 6 feet and 9 inches. Bepo was running back and forth in front of them, yapping happily still. He was a ball of boundless energy but Dominica could not blame him. He had been kept inside for a whole month after all, only being allowed out to relieve himself. She felt a bit bad for it but the moment the bear ran around her feet causing her to stumble and almost fall face first in the snow the guilt evaporated.

"Sit!" She said firmly and the cub did as told quickly, feeling anger building up in the woman. She crouched down, pulling Law with her. "Roll on your back." The cub did as told.

"Stand." He did that as well.

"Two legs." He pulled itself up on two feet but after a few seconds he fell on his back. Dominica let go of Law's hand and rubbed her jaw, falling deep in thought. "We're going to do a simple experiment when we get home." She said and stood up, letting Law hold her hand again. It did not take long before they reached the small town and the grey-eyed boy noticed how everyone greeted Dominica as they walked down the streets. It seemed like she was well-known and liked in the town.

"Good morning Dominica!" A few men called and she nodded in their direction.

"Dominica! Another patient?" An elderly man called and she nodded. "Yup. By the way Mr. Mick, could you prepare the usual for me and the kid around four o'clock? No bread, by the way." The elderly man laughed and nodded.

"Will do girlie." Law looked around curiously as Dominica led him down the streets and to the other end of town where she knocked on the door of a rather worn looking house. Not many moments passed before the door opened and a middle-aged appeared.

"Oh, Miss Dominica." He said and opened the door wider, allowing her to come in. "Good morning, Mr. Jones. I hope it's alright that I brought company with me?"

"Of course, of course." The man smiled and closed the door behind them. "Perhaps the boy would like a cup of hot chocolate? It is rather chilly out today." Mr. Jones asked and Law looked up at Dominica, uncertain but she nodded and urged him to follow the older man.

"Go on. Mr. Jones will show you where I am afterwards."

"B-but-" He began but she cut him off by crouching down and ruffling his hair. "Here, Bepo will come with you and keep you company, okay?" Mr. Jones held out a hand and Law glanced at Dominica once more, who nodded again, before grabbing it. She worried for the boy who seemed a bit frightened by leaving her presence when only a month before he feared being near her. If he did not grow out of it, which would take a long time she suspected, he would not be able to live his life to his fullest. She would not always be there for him, she was sure of that. No, she was going to make sure of that.

Well, she had a patient to visit.

"Hello, Mrs. Jones. How are you feeling today?" An elderly woman with a cast on her arm lay in bed, smiling at the younger woman.

"Oh, Dominica. I'm feeling good today." The doctor smiled and sat down on the chair beside the bed and pulled out her stethoscope, letting it rest around her neck and a wooden spatula.

"Say 'ah' for me, please." The old woman did as told and then Dominica moved her shirt up so she could check on the old woman's heart. Nothing out of the ordinary there. She made the woman lean forward and put the cold metal on her back.

"Now, deep breaths, Mrs. Jones." Just then Law walked inside with Bepo close after and they both stared at the two women.

"Oh, who is this?" Mrs. Jones asked and the blonde smiled. "Another patient of mine, Trafalgar Law and you know Bepo of course."

"Yes, the little that cub wouldn't leave you alone." Mrs. Jones chuckled. "But I haven't met the young man before. And I'm sure I haven't seen him in the town before either."

"Yes, well he's from a neighboring town." Dominica said quickly and the old woman smiled at the boy. "It's a pleasure meeting you, Trafalgar."

"Y-you too, Mrs. Jones." Law stuttered and the old woman laughed. "Call me Anne, dearie. Which town are you from?"

"U-um I-I…" He looked very uncomfortable and the doctor cut in. "You remember when I told you that Bepo came back with his paw bandaged, don't you, Mrs. Jones?" The old woman nodded.

"That was Trafalgars doing. Do you mind if he comes over and watch me finish the check-up?"

"Oh, of course not. Come over here dearie." Mrs. Jones, now known as Anne, forgot her own question and Dominica motioned the boy over. He hurried to leave the treshold and put his cup of cocoa on the night table before he immediately grabbed a hold of Dominica's shirt, causing Anne to chuckle.

"He's so attached to you." She said to the blonde who only smiled while continuing the examination and shook her head in denial. "He's a bit shy around unfamiliar faces, that's all. Alright, it seems like everything is as it should be. How's your arm?"

"Oh, it's terribly itchy but other than that it's alright." Dominica nodded. "That's good." Then she turned her teal eyes on Law.

"Trafalgar, this is Anne Jones. A week ago she fell and broke her arm and she's very prone to getting sick so I'm doing weekly check-ups on her. You want to come with me every time and watch, right?" The boy nodded eagerly causing the elderly lady to laugh.

"I'm not that prone to getting sick." She waved her arm and Dominica laughed with her. "I'm just doing my job Mrs. Jones."

"Indeed you are." Law felt Bepo nuzzle into his free hand and he petted the bear on the head. "You two are really attached to each other, aren't you?" Anne noticed and Law snapped his eyes up to her but before she noticed his fearful expression Dominica's hand fell onto his head and ruffled his hair, calming him almost immediately.

"Yes, they are, aren't they? Bepo is the one who stumbled upon Trafalgar, or was it the other way around?" She glanced down at Law who was still clutching her shirt. The boy nodded and stuttered out that he had found Bepo caught in a trap. "So Trafalgar patched Bepo up and sent him on his way. Bepo came to me and led me to the boy."

"What about your parents' dearie?" Anne asked with a frown. Law looked down. "I-I don't have any."

"Oh my." Anne's hand flew to her mouth and Dominica felt a frown tug on her lips. She knew of his pain, and it gnawed at her mind. Before she could stop herself, she found herself speaking words that were the complete opposite of what she had planned. "I'm watching over him for now though. He's got a sharp mind and shows an interest in medicine, so I thought about teaching him a little while he's in my care." Law's eyes snapped to her face to find the blonde grinning down at him. He blinked wide grey eyes at her in disbelief.

"Is that right?" Anne stared at the boy. "You want to become a doctor, child?" A sudden, wide and pure smile spread out on Law's face.

"Yes!" Anne chuckled. "Oh my, how cute you are. Well, it's good that you start early then. I can imagine that Dominica's going to be a tough teacher."

"He'll manage, I'm sure." Anne beckoned the boy over to her and he hesitantly obeyed. "Don't you turn into a second Dominica now, Trafalgar, and get all those hideous tattoos on your arms and body."

"Hey!" The teal eyed woman exclaimed and pulled the boy back. "They're not hideous!" She pouted and Anne laughed at her.

"Yes, yes they are." The younger woman shook her head and chuckled as well. Law had seen her tattoos but he didn't find them hideous at all. They were, in his eyes, rather cool looking and now that Anne had told him not to get them his natural childish side wanted to have them.

"He'll decide for himself when he gets older if he wants tattoos or not." The younger woman said firmly before moving Law towards the door. "Well, that's it for today Mrs. Jones. I'll be back the same time next week."

"Oh, are you leaving already? Won't you allow us to treat you to lunch before you leave?"

"No can do, I'm afraid. I have to find new clothes for Trafalgar but don't worry; Mr. Mick is giving us a free dinner later today."

"Oh, that old coot. Say hi to him for me."

"Will do!" Dominica called over her shoulder. "Come Bepo." The bear jumped to its feet and followed them outside as they said their goodbyes to Mr. Jones.

"Are we going back now?" Law asked but she shook her head. "We need to get you some new clothes first, something more practical." She stared at him deep in thought for a few moments until he started to squirm.

"Dominica-ya?" She blinked before she told him to follow her. "This way."

"B-but it's not safe-" She turned around and crouched in front of him, tapping his head carefully with her nodachi. "See this? It's a sword. I happen to be very good at using it." He held his head and his lower lip trembled causing her to sigh. He was just a kid. A traumatized, terrified kid. She had to be gentler about this. He may have felt that she was threatening _him_ at that moment and then all of her hard work at getting the kid to trust her would go down the drain.

"It'll be okay Trafalgar. I won't let anyone get you, okay? Trust me."

"Y-you promise?" He sniffed and she realized just how close he was to bursting into tears. Children really were more sensitive than adults. "Yeah. Pinky promise." She held out her pinkie and he slowly, unsure of the meaning, intertwined his pinkie with hers. Suddenly a bear paw was laid over their fingers and the bear yapped causing Dominica to laugh.

"See, Trafalgar? Bepo will protect you too." This made the boy feel a little bit better and he allowed himself to be dragged through the little town though he still cast fearful glances over his shoulders every now and then, just to be sure that they were not being followed or watched.


	5. Chapter 5

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Dominica belongs to me.**

I'd like to add a few words before we begin this chapter. If you want to draw or know someone who can draw who also likes One Piece, feel free to draw Dominica or scenes from this fanfic if you'd like. All I ask, is to be showed the result and allowed to post the link to the picture on my profile because I'm curious as to how you guys see my character.

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Law was not exactly sure what it was with Dominica and spotted clothes. All he knew was that every single one of her shirts, pants and jackets had brown or black spots on them, like her fuzzy hat. The fuzzy hat which she always wore, outside and even inside. She never took it off, except when she was going to sleep or bathe. He was suffering a similar fate, except that it was his pants, and nightclothes that were filled with spots. At least he got to choose his underwear by himself. Thank whatever deity that existed that he was allowed to do that. A crash could be heard from the bathroom, causing Law to jump startled and lose focus on what he was reading about before he recalled what was going on and immersed himself in the book again. Dominica was currently in the process of making their little bear take a bath.

"Stay still-" Something crashed to the floor causing him to twitch. "Oh come on! I just cleaned up in here- wait no stop!" Another crash, a thump and whining. What was going on in there?

"I thought it was cats which didn't like water-" She was cut off by a big splash and then there was only silence. "Bepo…." Her voice was low, Law almost could not hear her, and then the cub, water dripping off of its wfur shot out of the bathroom and hid beneath the living room table. Law looked up from the medical book in his lap to see a soaking wet Dominica stalk into the living room.

"Bepo, you are now going to go back into the bathroom and take a bath, or else Trafalgar will soon find himself with a stuffed polar bear which is_ not_ among the living, am I making myself clear?" The cub slowly emerged from its hiding place and trotted back towards the bathroom. Sometimes the teal eyed woman frightened Law. It was because when she was angry she reminded him so much of the people back at the facility he had escaped from. He knew now that she would not carry out the threats she tossed around but still… she reminded him too much of those evil men and women. He shuddered.

"And you!" He looked up sharply and saw her pointing at him, an icy feeling spreading in his gut.

"You are also going to take a bath today!" He nodded quickly and watched her leave the room and come back with a towel.

"How much have you read now?" She asked as she towel dried her hair. "A fifth of the book." He replied and she nodded.

"I'll give you the rest of the month to finish it. Call out if you need any help." Of course he would need help. He was six years old, she thought, but though he was so young she could not deny the potential he showed. He was more intelligent than the average six year old. She almost dared to think he was more intelligent than what she had been when she was his age. He nodded and went back to his book while she went for the kitchen to get herself a mug of coffee. Dominica herself inspected Law when she came out of the kitchen. The circles beneath his eyes were darker. She frowned.

'_Another nightmare?' _It had to be. What else would keep the boy awake at night? But she had thought that keeping Bepo close to him would offer at least _some_ comfort to the child. She would have to talk with him about it later but for now she had to finish bathing the cub so she left her mug on the living room table and went to the bathroom to check up on the bear. She found him sitting contently in the water, waiting for her.

"Oh yeah, _now_ you're listening." She sighed but kneeled beside the bath tub anyway and begun to scrub the dirty fur clean. This time Bepo caused no fuss and she wasn't soaked any more than she already was. It did not take long to bathe the cub now that he was listening to her and soon enough the fuzzy ball of fur raced out of the bathroom again though this time there was no need to chase after him but she did go to fetch Law.

"Your turn. Come on." She called to the boy who looked up. "Now?" He seemed like he wanted to argue but she raised an eyebrow at him and he gave up, snapping the book shut and leaving it on the table with the mug and following her to the bathroom. He was prepared for her helping him out but he was not prepared for her joining him. She claimed that it was because Bepo had soaked her in the soap water and that she wanted to wash it off properly. He could not argue with that logic. Though he had heard from the old man at the diner that some women loved to bathe. Perhaps she was that kind of a woman.

"Did you have a nightmare again?" The boy stiffened as she scrubbed his back before shaking his head. "No." She sighed and pulled him back against her chest. That was quite unusual as well but the boy took comfort in it. She rarely showed compassion like this.

"Don't lie to me Trafalgar. You had another nightmare, didn't you?" The boy finally nodded and she sighed. "How long have you gone without sleep?"

"A few days." He muttered causing her to sigh again in exhaustion. It was not good to go without sleep for a long period of time, least of all for a child. In his ears though, she sounded disappointed and he felt bad for it. She pushed him forward again and continued to scrub his back and then rinsed him before she began to pour shampoo in his hair.

"Close your eyes." He did as told and warm water showered over him and rinsed his hair free from the soap. "Alright, you can open them now." He cautiously opened his eyes and rubbed away the water droplets that dripped from his wet hair when Dominica hugged him close to her again.

"If you get a nightmare again Trafalgar, then wake me up."

"You won't get mad?" He asked her and she shook her head. "I won't get mad. It's important that you're able to sleep, so no, I won't get mad." She answered and he nodded.

"Okay." He would tell her next time. It was hard focusing on what he was reading if he was half-asleep all the time. What was the use in reading if he could not comprehend the content of the books due to sleep-deprivation? The moment Dominica had one foot out of the tub Bepo walked in and stared at them, causing them to stare back before he tilted his head to the side and opened his mouth.

"Foo… ood." There was an instant reaction from Dominica. She slipped on the tiled floor and landed heavily on her back, the breath being knocked out of her and she coughed while turning onto her stomach. She was but a mess of limbs and blonde hair on the floor and she looked up at the bear with wide eyes.

"Did you just talk?!" The bear only blinked his eyes at her before getting up and leaving the room, as if she had said something incredibly foolish. "Don't ignore me!"

**Dream**

"Left… right… left… right… left hind paw… right…. Block!" Law had long since forgotten about the medical book in his lap and had for the last half hour watched as Dominica was teaching the cub martial arts. Why she was doing it was a complete mystery for him though. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the little bear had uttered a word and now she was excited about doing experiments.

"One more time." She said and the bear nodded, rested on all fours before jumping up on two legs. "Left… right… left… right… right hind paw…. Dodge!" The bear had expected her to tell him to block and had therefore moved its paws to its chest instead of jumping back and therefore he fell back in surprise when she flicked his forehead.

"Dodge Bepo, dodge." She shook her head with a light chuckle before turning to look at Law. "Are you finished?" He blinked before shaking his head and burrowing his face in the book.

'_I forgot!'_ He thought in panic, for he had been too fascinated with watching the woman and cub train, but calmed down when she ruffled his hair. "It's late. Let's continue tomorrow." He looked up, wanting to argue but she stared him down.

"Tomorrow. You're exhausted, I can tell." He pouted but marked the page he was on and shut the book before getting ready for bed. Bepo dutifully made his way over to the bed the moment Law was under the covers and laid down beside the boy, ever the source of comfort to the child. Law felt his eyelids drop and it did not take long before blissful sleep claimed him.

It did not take long before the nightmares did either.

His eyes snapped open and he stared at the roof, breathing hard. His body shook and he pulled the sleeping cub closer, as he had done every night he woke up to a nightmare but this time, like many, the soft and warm furball did not seem to offer any comfort. He remembered Dominica's words but while he had said he would go to her instead of staying awake he was still hesitating. What if she really did not want to be woken up in the middle of the night?

'_She told me to go to her. She's done a lot for me so I should just do as I'm told.'_ He thought and let go of Bepo before slipping out of bed. He crept out the door and towards Dominica's room where he knocked on the door a few times but received no response. He was about to leave when he heard a muffled; _come in_. He opened the door and saw Dominica raising her head from the pillow, her blonde hair a mess and her eyes sleepy.

"A nightmare?" He nodded and she sighed before scooting closer to the wall. "Come here then." He blinked. What?

"Come on."

"B-but-" He began and she groaned before falling face first into the pillow. "Come on Traffy, I'm tired." He ignored the nickname she spontaneously gave him and hurried over to the bed, laying down and letting her cover him with the covers. Her room was bigger, and she had a lot of different things. The shadows towered over the bed and moved around, giving him the creeps so he scooted closer to Dominica before closing his eyes and forcing himself to sleep.

When he woke up the next day he noticed that he was feeling quite refreshed. He was not exhausted after trying to keep himself awake and the nightmares at bay. He felt awake! He was also clinging to Dominica's arm. With a yelp he jumped backwards and fell off the bed, efficiently waking up Dominica as well.

"What?!" She looked around before she realized what had happened when she felt something tug on her covers. She peered over the edge of the bed and saw Law trying to get out of the tangled mess of sheets. She chuckled and reached down to help him.

"I-I'm sorry I woke you up." He said as he got up on his feet but she shook her head. "That's alright. I should have gotten up earlier anyway." She swung her legs over the edge and cocked her head to the side.

"Anymore nightmares?" He thought back to the night before he shook his head with a big smile.

"No!"


	6. Chapter 6

I just felt like updating an extra chapter this week, since I was in such a good mood. I hope you'll enjoy it.

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Dominica belongs to me.**

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Dominica, Law and Bepo were heading towards the little town again, Dominica had to visit Mrs. Jones again to check on her leg. The old woman had fallen down the stairs and broken her leg only a week earlier and had insisted on only having Dominica checking up on her instead of the other doctors in the town.

Law and Bepo were the first to arrive at the elderly couples' home.

"Hello Anne-ya." Law greeted as he walked into the bedroom, Bepo in his arms. Anne looked up from the scarf she was knitting and smiled at the boy and his companion. "Hello Trafalgar." She returned the greeting.

"Hello to you too, Bepo." She scratched the little animal behind his ears and the cub yapped in contentment. "Where's Dominica?" The question brought a frown on the young boy's face and Anne raised an eyebrow.

"She's talking with Trace-ya." He told her. "So I went on ahead." Anne didn't know why Law didn't like Trace. The young man was kind and polite towards everyone. It was not fake kindness either. She gave Law a questioning look and the boy suddenly found the wall beside her very interesting.

"He doesn't like me." The boy muttered and Anne chuckled, realization dawning upon her. Trace did not like the boy, eh? Oh there was but one reason for that, at least there was only one reason she could think of. "I think he's just jealous." Law looked at her then, curious by her statement. "Jealous?" She nodded.

"You know, Dominica landed on this island only a few months before I met you."

"She did?" Law had thought she had lived on the island for many years considering how well-liked and known she was in the town. The elderly woman nodded again. "We don't know where she came from, only that she's an exceptional doctor. The only payment she wanted was a home, clothes and food. We provided her with all of those things so that she would stay and treat us for whatever ailment we would contract."

"How is this connected to Trace-ya being jealous?" Law asked with a disbelieving frown and Anne shook her head. "Dominica rarely left the cabin unless we called for her and when she did treat us she was always detached, only being polite and never opening up. Then one day she came into town, gathered equipment, food and a few extra sheets, covers and pillows before she disappeared for a month. At first we thought she had left but then she came to check up on me and brought the two of you with her, all smiles and laughter. I think, along with the rest of the town, that you two are the reason."

"Us?" Law asked confused. Bepo mimicked the word. "U-us?" Anne blinked and stared at the cub for a few moments. No matter how many times she heard the bear talk she would pause and stare in amazement. She suspected she would never be able to get used to it.

"Yes. I think that's why Trace doesn't like you, as you put it. He wanted to be the reason she would smile like that."

"Why?" Law asked. He could not grasp what the old woman was getting at. "Love." She said simply before Dominica entered the room, startling the two inhabitants greatly. Law almost lost his grip on Bepo and the cub whined loudly in disapproval. While Dominica wondered why the two seemed to resemble deer's caught in the headlights she shrugged it off and sat down by Anne's bedside.

"Sometimes, Mrs. Jones, I think you're doing this on purpose." Dominica sighed as she examined the older woman's leg. "Are you assuming I'm deliberately hurting myself only because I want you three to visit us?"

"Yes." Dominica grinned at Anne who grinned back. "Guilty as charged." Anne joked but Law did not understand the joke.

"You can't do that Anne-ya! It must hurt a lot!" The boy exclaimed and the two women stared at him before they burst out laughing. "I was only jesting, dearie. I'm not a masochist."

"Maso... chist?" The boy tilted his head questioningly and Anne shook her head. "He's too adorable, Dominica."

"Too adorable indeed." Law did not understand what was going on but did in the end realize that Anne had not been serious.

"Trafalgar, Mr. Jones said he's got something for you and is waiting in the kitchen. Don't keep him waiting any longer now." The child's eyes lit up and he hurriedly exited the room with the cub still in his arms.

"A bundle of endless energy, isn't he?" Anne chuckled and Dominica nodded. "Only now and then. Usually he's got his nose buried in one of my medical books."

"He's grown very attached to you." Anne noted and Dominica paused her examination, looking up at the older woman. "Yes." The complete opposite of what she had planned.

"Is something bothering you?" Anne asked and Dominica paused again. "He needs a family." She finally said after a while. "I can't be with him forever."

"Why not?" Anne asked. "I don't know how to raise a child. The only thing I know how to do is being a doctor and wield this nodachi. I'm not… mother-material. He needs a real family." Dominica had planned to leave Law in the hands of one of the couples in town or perhaps one of the families. She knew plenty of people in the town that were unable to conceive children and would have been happy to take Law in. Where had her plain derailed, she thought. When did she start to care for the boy?

"I think you're all the boy needs." Anne disagreed and the blonde haired woman looked at her as the older woman laid her hands above hers. "Trafalgar loves you very much Dominica. I don't think he needs a family, only someone to be there and care for him, like you do."

"You think… I should take him in? Become his guardian?" That was a dangerous thought. She was not even getting her plan back on track, she was just derailing more and it was just getting worse getting back.

'_Go back! Get back on track dammit!'_

"Haven't you already done so?" Dominica stared at the hands resting above hers for several moments, thoughts colliding and mashing together within her mind before she finally spoke again, the words troubling Anne because there seemed to be something wrong, as if Dominica knew that something bad would happen soon.

"Then… If anything were to happen to me, could you take him and Bepo in? He trusts you the most out of everyone in the town."

"I promise. Don't worry." Though the words left the woman deeply troubled.

**Dream**

"Trafalgar?" The boy looked up at the woman sitting on the couch in the living room. He had made himself ready for bed and was about to bid her good night when she spoke up.

"Would you like… would you like to stay here with me and Bepo until you're old enough to set out on your own?" The boy's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. At first Dominica thought he would say no but that was only until Law launched himself at her and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Yes, yes, yes!" He said and she had to hug him back to stop him from pulling her to the ground. Somehow it felt as if a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders when he spoke again, his voice so high-pitched and watery she almost began to cry herself.

"Thank you!"

This was wrong, she knew it was. Bad things always followed her and just because she had been successfully hiding for almost a year did not mean that she was safe. If her past caught up to her, Law and Bepo would be caught in the crossfire. Her chest constricted at the thought.

How had it ended up like this?


	7. Chapter 7

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Dominica belongs to me.**

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"Left, right, left, right, block, left, kick, dodge, aim for the throat!" Dominica patted the cub who had finally managed to land a proper hit without actually touching her. That he managed to follow her instructions without messing up was good enough. When he got bigger, and she could stand upright instead of crouching on the floor or ground, she would be taking him a bit more seriously. For now, she would teach him the basics and have him practice them.

"How is going with that book, Trafalgar?" She called as she held her palms out for the bear to hit. "I'm almost finished." The boy replied, too engrossed in the topics of the book to really care much for what his guardian was saying. She raised an eyebrow but he didn't move from his spot nor did he look up to wonder why she had suddenly turned silent. While she did find it to be a good thing that he was not so easily distracted when he was reading anymore it was a bit disheartening that he, at the age of six, almost seven, lost himself in the books. He was at the age where he was supposed to run around and cause a ruckus, giving her trouble with his explorations.

'_He needs to get out more.'_ What he really needed were friends but there were not many children in the town, only a few. The town was quite small, after all. She flickered the cub's forehead and the animal fell onto its back as she stood up and pulled the book out of Law's hands. The boy looked up startled, eyes wide, afraid he had done something wrong but she shook her head and marked the page he was on before putting it down on the table.

"We're going into town."

"But we were there yesterday." Law said confused. They never left the cabin more than twice a week to buy food, clothes and do check-ups on patients. Why would they go back to town on a day he knew she didn't have any patients to check up on?

"I know, now come." She said and pulled him to the door with the cub bounding after them faithfully.

"But…. Why?" Terror filled him for a moment, and he feared that perhaps everything she had said was a lie, that she did not care for him, that she was going to stop teaching him medicine, that she was about to throw him out and that she was going to bring him back to the facility he had escaped from almost a year ago.

"I just want to go into town Trafalgar. What's wrong?" She furrowed her brows when she noticed that he was trembling and kneeled down in front of him. "Trafalgar?" The boy was so fearful of her he started to tug at his hand to free himself and she pulled him into an embrace to calm him down.

"L-let go, don't-" Tears made their way down his cheeks but she only rubbed his back in a soothing manner. "Calm down Trafalgar, calm down."

"Don't…. don't-" He sobbed and she whispered soothing words to calm him down. Several moments passed by before he had managed to calm himself down enough to speak properly and she froze at his next words. "Don't take me back there… don't take me to the facility…" She had never questioned Law about where he had been before she found him in the forest. She knew that he had been involved with one of the many gangs on the other end of the island but she did not know which one. One of them was involved with a certain pirate crew she was trying to avoid so she had not really made an effort in looking into where he came from. She kind of felt horrible for it now.

'_I could wipe them all out with not trouble.'_ She thought. _"Why haven't I done that yet?'_ The answer was quite simple. She had laid low for over a year now, and knew that one mistake would attract the enemy in a heartbeat. If she were to take action against the criminal groups on the other end, the pirates running one of them would take notice that either their own group disappeared or that they lost an enemy.

She was scared of being found. Just like Law was right now.

"I won't bring you back to any facility Trafalgar. I told you, didn't I?" She said firmly. "I told you that you could stay with me until you grew up. I don't go back on my word kid." She said and moved back to look him in the eyes, rubbing the tears away.

"Y-you promise?"

"Pinky promise."

Ah, she had done it now. There was nowhere to run now, she was committed for life.


	8. Chapter 8

I hope this chapter is to your liking. I was kinda nervous about posting it.

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Dominica belongs to me.**

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It was a few days after Law had turned eight when it happened.

Sitting in Mick's diner after having followed Dominica and watched her examine patients, the trio was enjoying their free meal of the day. Law, Dominica realized, had grown on most of the elderly in the town, and they had grown on him. Mike's cooking for example. The boy just could not get enough of it, especially since the old man took care not to put any bread close to the boy as he soon had learned that the dark haired child hated the very thought of digesting said food. Law had, for the last half an hour, been asking her questions about dissections because he felt he was old enough to at least try dissecting an animal. While she had answered his questions she had done so distractedly.

There was a twisting feeling in her gut, as if something was wrong and she should know what it was but nothing came to mind and as she could not shake the feeling off of her she was trying to silently figure out what was wrong she had stopped answering Law without knowing it until the boy grabbed her sleeve and began tugging.

"Dominica-ya?"She blinked and looked down at the boy. "What?" It came out rougher than she had meant to and the boy flinched, quickly letting go of her sleeve.

"Y-you spaced out…" The boy muttered, his eyes moving back to his empty plate. She sighed and ruffled his hair in a comforting manner. She had not meant to sound angry, knowing that even though Law seemed more at ease, comfortable, around her, he was still unsure of everyone around him. The boy was damaged and she somehow found herself wanting to be there to help him recover. It was incredible how a plan could change so much the moment one let their mouth run on auto-pilot. Yet, as she had thought about this turn of events many times while watching the boy sleep with the cub clutched tightly in his arms an answer had always manifested in her mind. It quickly disappeared the moment she turned away and she would always forget it until the next night. She wondered why that was.

"Sorry. Here, I brought this." She pulled out a book from her bag and handed it over to Law. "I got you your own text on the basics. I figured that you'd like a few medical books of your own instead of borrowing mine all the time." While Law had always been very careful with every book she lent him she found it better for him to have his own books. He showed more care for her books than any of her former comrades and assistants had and for that she felt somewhat guilty for feeling slightly apprehensive about allowing him to read them but those books were important to her.

They were her treasures, given to her by one of the most important persons in her life.

"T-thank you!" Law exclaimed in glee and hugged it close to himself before putting it down on the counter and getting up on his feet on his seat. Then he fell forward and wrapped his arms around her neck, surprisingly strong for a little boy. She smiled and patted his back, gently pulling him free and having him sitting back down.

"Watch out so you don't fall off." She scolded him halfheartedly and the boy giggled and reached out, letting his hands fall flat on the cover.

'_My own book!' _The excitement was quickly building up in him. While he had already read about the basics from before, having his very own book was incredible. He never thought that would ever happen. The cover was smooth to the touch, the letters etched into it with an elegant font, a thin red, silk thread acting as a bookmark. This book was new, much more so than Dominica weathered leather book.

As he was letting his hands glide over the cover, his giggles never ceasing to escape his lips, the door to the diner opened and a squadron of marines entered the establishment. Their captain looked quite rough around the edges and was looking around with narrowed eyes, suspicion etched into his features. Dominica glanced over at the door before turning back to her food. The squadron walked further into the diner and they all began looking around. There weren't many people in there. There was Mick, Dominica, Law, Bepo and a few townspeople. Excluding the soldiers they were only eight people in there. Dominica pulled down the edge of her fuzzy hat to shadow her face more.

"Mick, another glass of water, please." She ordered quietly and the man nodded, fetching a mug and filling up her glass. Law looked up at her and opened his mouth but she quickly ruffled his hair, effectively silencing him. "It's time to go home." She downed her glass quickly and was about to get up on her feet when a shadow fell over her. Beside her Law shrunk back, the gruff face of the marine captain intimidating him.

"You are not a native of this island." Law glanced between the marine and Dominica. Mick had moved away from them, being a bit distrustful of the marines. They seldom came to the island and when they did they caused nothing but trouble.

"What makes you say that?" Dominica asked, crossing her arms over the counter, leaning down. "Your tan."

"That's a ridiculous assumption. There are ships docking here every day. For all you know I just now came back from a trip." There was a rustle of papers behind her and she narrowed her eyes slightly.

"According to these papers there were only 153 people in this town two years ago."

"Yes?"

"Now it says 155 people." The marine said. "That would be me and the boy." Dominica said casually. "We moved here two years ago."

"And that was what caught the Marine Base attention." Law noticed how Dominica's lips twitched downwards and wondered why.

"Why would that interest you?" She asked and the marine put the papers inside his coat. "Because you match the description of a wanted pirate, woman." Dominica sighed and rubbed her face.

"How do I resemble a pirate? I'm a simple doctor travelling from island to island and just happened to settle down here." She was glad her sword was resting beneath both her and Law's chairs, hidden by their coats and scarfs.

"This pirate is also a doctor." The marine said and Dominica rubbed her forehead.

"Well, I'm no pirate doctor." She retorted and the marine behind her growled. "There is a simple way to prove your innocence. Show us your back." Dominica tensed before turning, her eyes shadowed by the fringe of her hat.

"Are you telling me to strip in public? In front of my kid?" She growled. "No, absolutely not. You can't just come in here and demand that I strip just because you're marines. That's an abuse of authority. Come on Trafalgar, we're leaving." Dominica said but the moment she was up on her feet two marines charged forward and slammed her upper body to the counter, grabbing her shirt. The woman was too shocked to struggle before it was too late.

"Domi-" Law began but froze up at the sight of the mark on Dominica's back. The marine captain smirked in triumph, white teeth flashing.

"Our reports were accurate, it seems. The description given to us was that of a tall woman in her early twenties, pale hair, teal eyes, wearing spotted clothes and wielding a nodachi living on a remote island in North Blue claiming to be a doctor." Then the struggle began, and Dominica surprisingly managed to shove the two marines off of her but before she could get her bearings she was swarmed by two more, putting their combined weight on her, almost crushing her as they subdued her.

"I don't know what you're doing out here, if it's on orders from your captain or not, all I know is that it ends here. This illusion of being a kind doctor who would treat the ill or wounded in this town is about to be pulled down." The shirt was pulled down again to cover the mark and Dominica growled.

"I'm no pirate!"

"The mark on your back tells us otherwise. Cease your struggling!" The marine captain barked before opening his mouth once again, the words making young Law's blood run cold.

"You're under arrest, pirate doctor Death Caller Dominica of the Donquixote Pirates!"


End file.
